Haiku around the web ~

Here is a growing list of useful haiku resources around the web. Please check back here often, as it will be updated. You are encouraged to submit your website for inclusion in this list. Just email the link and a description to santhanamss@gmail.com.

You are also welcome to contribute your own review to any of these websites or others. The reviewers initials follow each of the reviews presented below.

[SS] - Shyam Santhanam
[NR] - Narayanan Raghunathan

Participatory websites


World Haiku Club and World Haiku Review
http://www.worldhaikuclub.org/

The World Haiku club is a prominent non-profit international haiku organization started in 1998, who organize the annual world haiku festival. They maintain mailing-list fora through YahooGroups, and allow free participation and discussion. Participation in the groups is through membership to the club, which involves a personal application by e-mail. There is a large and diverse member base, which contributes to their online literary journal World Haiku Review. The members include many seasoned and honoured haijin. [SS]


The webWorks Gallery - Charnwood Arts
http://www.charnwood-arts.org.uk/webworks/haiku.php
The webWorks gallery is one of the finest free participatory Photo Haiku experiences on the web. Technically, it is an exquisitely designed website. The photo selection is static (members cannot contribute photos). However, the sets of photos presented are carefully selected works of art. The successful design and feeling of the website has drawn a healthy contribution of fine haiku. [SS]


Photo Haiku Gallery
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/ph_top
Here is one of the veteran Photo Haiku sites. It features full, free participation -- members can contribute both haiku and photos. Contributions are reviewed (just to check validity) before publishing. It is bilingual in English and Japanese, although the haiku are diverse and multilingual (English haiku are predominant). In the archives of this website, one can witness the development of the unique Photo Haiku genre, and how the open interactivity of the web has spurred it on. The navigation and editing features of this site are less-than-deserving of its dedicated member base. However, this does not necessarily hinder the users. The author archives are well-organized and there is an effective search feature. [SS]


Shiki Haikusphere

http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/
A veteran of Internet haiku in general. Shiki Haikusphere has been present on the Internet in some form (as a bulletin-board, mailing list and now an interactive discussion board) since 1995. The archives date as far back as May 1995 and show the nascent stage of sharing haiku through the Internet medium worldwide. The forum has ever since been, and still is, conducted as a mailing list (now called the NOBO list). There is also a seperate tanka mailing list. The interactive message board seems generally inactive. [SS]


World Kigo Database

http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/

This is one of the most remarkable sites on the whole web. Thanks to the vision and perseverance of Gabi san it is a labyrinth encyclopedia. You can go on investigating via the links. There are excellent Haiku, classical Japanese and modern-worldwide, presented which elucidate the use of the kigo collected in the database. If any entry is incomplete, an ongoing discussion can add the missing details and correct the tentative errors if any. It is a Global Discussion forum for kigo related issues. This is a project for many life times as Gabi san remarked to me in a letter. I am also a small contributor to the World Kigo Database. [NR]

 


Online Journals and Magazines

Haiku Guy - Haiku of Kobayashi Issa

http://haikuguy.com/issa

This is a phenomenal site for the lovers of Haiku. If you know Japanese too, you are more fortunate. Here, you have the remarkable Japanese-English haiku translator David Lanoue engaged in the monumental task of translating the complete collection of Issa which is roughly about 22000 haiku. He has completed over 7000 haiku. The haiku are presented in Japanese, and English transliterations. David Lanoue's careful translations and excellent notes follow. The search facility is excellent too. It is a perpetually growing site. David is a member of WonderHaikuWorlds and contributes a feature on Issa. Issa, is recognized as one of the All time greats of Haiku I think that, if you have not read a few thousand "Issa Haiku" , you must ,whether you are a veteran or a fresher to Haiku. If you love Issa's Haiku this is the site for you. It is truly amazing how Issa wrote so prolifically and so well and each with a subtle personal stylistic signature. [NR]

Simply Haiku

http://www.simplyhaiku.com/

"A quarterly journal, Simply Haiku contains original contributions from new poets and experienced haijin, with offerings in the English genres of haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, renku and haiga. In addition, we feature a haiku column, and offer articles, interviews and book reviews featuring well known figures from the international haiku community along with reprints from other journals that merit wider distribution. We welcome your submissions to Simply Haiku. Each member of our editorial staff accepts submissions for his or her own genre/section of the journal."
Robert D. Wilson, Owner and Managing Editor

To say the least, this is an extraordinary site and an E journal for Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, Renku,. even Haibun and Haiga. The brainchild of Robert.D Wilson, it is designed like a magazine for each issue. Simply Haiku archives shows that the Magazine was a monthly launched in 2003: in 2004 it turned into a bimonthly and in 2005 and 2006 it is published as a quarterly. Tremendous effort has gone into making each issue a memorable event. In its latest format [summer 2006] there are independent sections for Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, Renku, Features [Interviews and Essays] Haibun and Haiga [Traditional and Modern] Reviews and Reprints. A specialist does the editorial work for each section. There are three special columns. "Pipeline" introduces a new Haijin doing something special and who deserves to be noticed. The other two columns, "Tracks in the sand" by George Swede and "Haiku in context" by Robin D Gill. are specially noteworthy too. This is a well edited set of E- Magazines [each issue can be linked from the archives] and hence a high quality is almost uniformly maintained in all the sections. There is a very useful contributors index too maintained in the site with all the names listed alphabetically. The "submissions procedures" too are not very elaborate. Please check the site and proceed accordingly sending your entries to the respective editors. Many people would consider finding a place in "Simply Haiku Magazine" a big honour. [NR]

 

 


Personal Websites


Sakuo Nakamura

Everyday Issa: http://sakuo3903.blogspot.com/

Illustrated haiku of Sakuo Nakamura: http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Duets/sakuo/00sakuo.htm

This is Sakuo Nakamura's Renku Haiga site. Sakuo san receives Issa's Haiku and translation in English from David Lanoue regularly. He writes Renku bilingually [in Japanese and English.] and makes a delightful Haiga on the Haiku. There is a delicate Child-likeness in his Haiga and renku reminiscent of Issa. This site is surely a delightful experience for repeated visits and it is growing every other day. Sakuo's Haiga are always a special treat to the mind and eye. [NR]


Soji's Haiku Hut
http://www.haikupoetshut.com/
This is a beautifully designed site and the Home Page Layout of our site WHW was inspired by Soji's site. It is a grid design. We will generally indicate what you may find in each grid ! There are ten doors of entry. First we have Soji's own fine collection updated regularly.The second door leads to Soji's special selection of modern Haiku called Soji's Haiku Festival ~ A Celebration Of Haiku From Around The World. This section in nine pages Soji has carefully culled Haiku from many contemporary Haijin especially of the western world .

The third door :leads to some special works by Basho.

They are as follows

Basho interpretations,

3 translations of Basho's haiku.



Basho's "lonely road" haiku

with commentaries



Basho, a childrens story



Basho's own comments

on his life as a haiku poet.



The fourth door leads to Haibun and essays section. The contents are as follows.


The Moon

A Haibun

by

Takashi Nonin

Last Visit

An Illustrated Haibun

by

Ron Moss


Is It Haiku?

An Essay

by

Jane Reichold


The fifth door leads to A photo Haiku section where Soji has written haiku related to 44 photos: some photos by other photographers many by Soji himself.The Sixth Door [Haiga] leads to a collection of beautiful Haiga mostly by soji himself. The Seventh Door leads to an interactive photo haiku section where there are 23 photos by various photographers for each of which one may contribute a haiku New photos are not added as it appears. New haiku are accepted if found suitable by the site owner.The Eigth door leads to the special section "colorrenga" where linked Haiku by more than one Haijin are presented. The Ninth door leads to "Liinks" to Selected Haiku sites which are regularly updated. Now in the last door we encounter soji: the site owner we have a photo and an excellent autobiographical sketch. This site established in 1996 is designed by soji himself. It is a site with excellent design and navigation. [NR]

Aha! Poetry
http://www.ahapoetry.com/homepage.htm

This is a very vast site with great potential by the distinguished Haijijn / poet Jane Reichhold. It is more a personal site than a participatory site ~ It is also rather randomly arranged in my opinion. It will be a wonderful experience to visit this site if you have not already done it. I have responded to Jane's Excellent "Haiku Rules That Have Come and Gone" and "Some Thoughts for Rethinking Haiku". [NR]


General Haiku Links and Directories


Haiku.com
http://www.haiku.com/

This is a site which provides useful links to various haiku related things. The nine sections of the grid are 1] anthology sites ~ 2] Individual Poets ~ 3] published works ~4] essays & articles ~ 5] joku ~ 6] reference ~ 7 ] Events ~ 8] Online journals ~ 9] Societies and Clubs. You may submit Haiku or Site Name according to the site ~ But the site seems to be in operative essentially ~ It is not known where the Haiku are archived and whether you may get a reply to your queries. [NR]

 

http://www.asahi.com/english/haiku/index.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~missias/Acorn.html


Regional Haiku Societies
America - Australia">http://www.hsa-haiku.org/
Australia - Britain">http://www.haikuoz.org/
Britain - Germany">http://www.britishhaikusociety.org/
Germany - Special">http://haikugesellschaft.de/

 

Special pages for haiku-related genres


Haiga
http://www.haigaonline.com/


"The first haiga e-zine in history, Haigaonline ('HAIGAOnline: A Journal of Poetry and Painting' as it was then called) was founded by Jeanne Emrich. The first issue was published in May 1998 and so (although our numbering of issues begins with the editorship of an'ya in 2002) we are now in our eighth year of publication." [ from the site ]
This is a pioneering site which presents Haiga in its various manifestations [ old and new ] by many Haiga artists ! There are sections for traditional, contemporary, collaborative, and experimental types of Haiga. The site is quiet , subtly designed and gives us the special ambience that enhances this aesthetic niche on the web! If you love Haiga you may well be tempted to visit this site again & again. There is a resident traditional Haiga artist , a resident Japanese ~ English translator , a resident Japanese calligrapher, and a resident musician who add to the site�s special potential. The audio/music aspect to the Haiga experience is also investigated in the site . [ So please keep your sound on ! ]. Linda Morey Papanicolaou is the present editor of Haigaonline : the archives has 8 issues from 2002 AD onwards. Submissions are welcome and novel and experimental methods of Haiga are appreciated too. Great care is taken to make each issue a special experience and I hope that these old issues are brought out in print and CD's if possible! [NR]

Haibun

Contemporary Haibun Online
http://www.poetrylives.com/CHO/


Miscellaneous

 

Reginald Horace Blyth
http://www.gardendigest.com/zen/blyth.htm

Haikutalk
http://www.nhi.clara.net/hktalk.htm

The Art of Haiku
http://www.nhi.clara.net/hk.htm

Haiku Times
http://www.haikutimes.com/

Haijinx
http://www.haijinx.com/



http://www.worldhaikureview.org/
http://www.modernhaiku.org/
http://www.theheronsnest.com/
http://freespace.virgin.net/haiku.presence/
http://www.geocities.com/moonsethaiku/index.html
http://www.big.or.jp/~loupe/links/enginx.shtml
http://members.optusnet.com.au/paperwasp/
http://www.reedscontemporaryhaiga.com/
http://www.geocities.com/sakipress/
http://users.mullum.com.au/jbird/YM.html
http://www.geocities.com/bottlerockets_99/submissions.html
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond.htm
http://members.tripod.com/donw714/lillieindex.html
http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/mayfly.html
http://hometown.aol.com/welchm/Tundra.html
http://fullmoonlm.bravehost.com/
http://www.kakinet.com/
http://canadianzenhaikuv2n12004.homestead.com/index.html
http://users.rcn.com/jhudak.interport/haiku.html
http://glwarner.narrowgate.net/haiku/
http://happano.org/
http://members.cox.net/jhaison/correcaminos/extras/title%20page.htm
http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/


 




Comments
Please do check out With Words:
http://www.withwords.org.uk
Alan Summers Tue, Jan 20th 2009, 12:40  
  
There's still time to enter our 2nd With Words Online International Haiku Competition:
http://www.withwords.org.uk/comp.html
Alan Summers Sun, May 17th 2009, 11:56  
  
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